Police have charged a man with 31 counts of breaching court orders

On September 21, Halifax District RCMP investigated two reports of indecent acts involving a man masturbating and exposing himself in the presence of children in the Fall River and Wellington areas. RCMP issued a media release asking for public assistance in identifying the man. A Halifax Regional Police community officer identified a potential suspect based on the suspect’s description. The suspect is bound by a lifetime prohibition order that prohibits him from attending any daycare, school ground or public park where children under the age of 14 may reasonably be expected to be present. At the time, there was insufficient evidence to arrest the suspect and police commenced an investigation to monitor his movements. We are not in a position to elaborate on the details of the investigative techniques as this forms part of the evidence that is before the courts.

At 12:27 p.m. on February 14, 2017, officers received information from a group of children who witnessed a man masturbating in the window of an apartment on Maplehurst Drive in Dartmouth. Police attended and arrested a man without incident at 1:11 p.m. in a unit in the apartment building. Fifty-six-year-old James Michael Snow of Dartmouth was charged with one count of committing an indecent act and was remanded into custody until his trial on November 21, 2017.

Snow, now 57-years-old, was arrested at the courthouse following the conclusion of the trial and charged with 30 counts of breaching the prohibition order by attending a daycare, school ground or public park where children under the age of 14 may reasonably be expected to be present and one count of breaching a recognizance. The charges stem from information gathered through the investigation as well as incidents reported to police. The offences occurred from October 6, 2016 to February 11, 2017, primarily near school grounds, public parks and daycares throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality with one occurring in Milford, Nova Scotia.

Snow was held in custody and appeared in Dartmouth Provincial Court yesterday to face the charges. He is scheduled to appear again tomorrow.